RUN!
by TurboloverJP
Summary: A deadly hunting game takes place in the sewer system of New Gotham.
1. The game begins

**RUN!**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own, nor do I claim to own any of the characters of Birds of Prey. No copyright infringement is intended, honest.

***

Barbara bit her bottom m lip nervously as she read the incoming information on her computer screen. "This can't be good," she mumbled as she typed again searching for more data. After a few seconds the screen showed the results. Now she felt most worried. 

"Huntress, do you copy?" she asked through her comm device.

::Kinda busy,:: came the short reply.

Barbara could hear the sounds of fighting coming through Helena's comm.

"Is Dinah with you?"

There was a delayed response after a few grunts and groans.

::No.::

"You okay?"

::Just fine,:: Helena replied angrily, annoyed with the interruption.

I found something that worries me. Are you..."

Before Barbara could continue, she heard Helena's connection turn off.

"Son of a..." she swore softly. She had done it again. Sighing, she put her hand to her ear and called out to Dinah. "Dinah, do you copy?"

::I'm here, Oracle. What's up?::

Where are you?

I was finishing homework at Gabby's house.

"Huntress is in the middle of something at the moment so I need you to go out to do some investigating."

::Cool! Where?::

"My Intel says that on the East side of the city there's been some activity down in the sewers. According to my map of the sewer system, there's a main tunnel over on Derby Avenue. Look for the manhole marked number twenty five."

::Copy that.::

I have some info, but not much. The guys that are there.I have a bad feeling about them.

::I'm on my way::

"Dinah...be careful."

::Right,:: Dinah replied with an aren't-I-always-tone in her voice.

  
***

  
Dinah climbed down the narrow, metal ladder and into the tunnel. The smell was overpowering and she did all she could to block her nostrils from inhaling the rotted stench.

She walked slowly along the tunnel, trudging through water, mud, and trash. 

Voices presented themselves from further on ahead as they echoed throughout the tunnel. The echo made it hard to hear what they were saying so she decided to get closer.

Taking cover into the darkness, Dinah stayed out of sight while she listened to the men talking.

"The game starts tonight, you all know the rules," one of the men stated.

"Come on, do we really need rules?"

"The game isn't fair to everyone if there aren't rules, my friend. Each of you have paid a good deal of money to play this little game, and as the host of this game I want to be sure that each of you gets your moneys worth. Allow me to go over the rules one more time, just so we're all clear. Rule number one - each player will be equipped with one Glock .357 and one full clip of 5 bullets. Each of you have your own distinct, colored bullets. Rule number two - you are not to use any other weapons and will be padded down before the game begins. This makes the playing fair for everyone. If we find that you have used other weapons, let's just say that you won't be playing another game with us or anyone else for that matter because Joey here will kill you."

Dinah felt herself flinch a little at the word "kill."

"How the game works is you try to make use of as many bullets as you have been supplied, but you cannot shoot to kill. The game lasts for exactly two hours and after two hours, the prey will be taken back here. At that time, Joey will remove the bullets. The player with the most hits wins the game - fifty percent of the total amount paid by each of you to play. The losers, well, are losers and get nothing."

"What if a bullet goes all the way through? Technically it's a hit, but it won't be there for you to count it."

"These bullets are designed not to produce a through-and-through. So don't worry, all of your hits will be counted." Suddenly his cell phone rang. He answered it and talked with someone for several minutes. After hanging up the phone he smiled and rubbed his hands together. Gentlemen, everything is ready.

Who or what is the prey?

You'll find out soon enough. I'll give you tracking devices. This way it'll make the game a little more interesting. Think of it as hunting in the jungle, a concrete jungle, that is.

One of the men looked at the organizer and crossed his arms. I'm curious as to what made you think of this game, if I may be so bold as to ask.

I want to show all my enemies what will happen to them if they interfere with my business, and basically if they try to fuck with me.

"Alright, let's get this game going!" one of the other participates snapped, annoyed with the delay.

"Okay, okay. I can see you're all eager to get underway."

Dinah quietly made her way closer to where the men were, doing her best to stay hidden in the shadows. Her new location afforded her the ability to see some of the men, but she was still unsure as to how many of them there were.

A heavyset man passed out small black boxes to each of the men. "Here are your tracking devices. The device will be activated in exactly twenty minutes, signaling the start of the game. You will have only fifteen minutes to use this device to locate the prey. This should allow you enough time to find the prey and make your first move. After fifteen minutes, you're on your own. You'll have to use the remaining hour and forty-five minutes to hunt the prey using your own skill."

The men laughed and Dinah felt her skin begin to crawl.

A large, muscular man opened a briefcase containing three handguns. That solved the question of how many men were playing this deadly game.

He passed out the guns and closed the case up.

"Gentlemen, let the games begin."

Dinah quickly moved as far into the corner of the tunnel as she could when she heard them coming her way. The darkness shielded her as the men walked past, totally unaware of her presence. 

As soon as they were gone, Dinah followed them. 

"Oracle?"

::Go ahead.::

"There were some men down here, they're planning some sort of hunting game. They didn't say specifically who they're hunting but my guess is that it isn't quail."

:Did they say his name or where they're going to start this game'?::

No, I'll follow them. Where is Huntress?

::She's still got her hands full with a couple of thugs on the other side of town. Her comm is off, as usual.::

They are going to kill someone, Barbara. I have to follow them and help who ever they're hunting.

::Wait Dinah, I'll call the police.::

If you call the police the man that is organizing this could kill the prisoner. The guy behind this whole thing did tell the others that the reason why he's doing it is to show everyone who's boss.

::I knew this couldn't't be good. Follow them and be careful. Keep constant contact.:: 


	2. Discoveries

At Clock Tower Barbara tried to contact Helena unsuccessfully.

Dinah looked down the tunnel as the men moved down the sewers towards other areas that branched off from the main tunnel. They moved in different tunnels waiting for the tracking device to activate. 

Follow them all was impossible so she choose one. It was the only way to find and help the 

Just as she was about to get closer to him, she heard the device emit a loud beeping sound. Afraid that he'd see her, she ducked behind a wall to stay out of sight.

The man kept a watchful eye on the device as he headed down the tunnel and to the corner. The device was beeping faster, indicating that he'd found the prey, but when he looked across it there were two people: both dressed in black, side-by-side, and wearing hoods to conceal their faces.

"Which one?" he muttered under his breath as his eyes shifted back and forth from one person to the other.

He watched as the two split up, each going their separate ways. One of them began running down the sewer and after a few moments it was clear who the prey was.

Quickly reaching for his gun, he removed the safety and fired.

The sound of gunfire from one of the other participants echoed through the walls of the old sewers. He too had been watching the prey from afar.

Dinah got to her feet and watched two men running by another tunnel in an attempt to catch their target. More gunshots sounded. 

Following them, Dinah took some shortcuts and managed to get ahead of the men.

:Dinah?:: Barbara's voice came booming through her ear.

"I'm here."

::You okay?::

"I haven't been able to get close enough to see who they're hunting. It's like a giant maze down here! I can't follow all of them at once."

::Let me pull up the map. Okay, you're walking toward a small square.::

I can see it. They are there now," Dinah whispered. "I'm gonna try and get closer. Dinah ran off towards the area the men were in.

There were now three men at various spots in the square, each one hell-bent on finding their prey and ultimately winning the game.

Dinah kept silent and hidden behind two barrels as she watched two of the men begin to argue.

It's hurt, One of them said as he kneeled on the floor, his fingers touching blood spots on the ground.

Good, I think nailed it in leg, the other one said.

Angry, the other man stood up and got into the other man's face. "I'm winning this game so don't even think about taking my money." 

"Screw you, you probably haven't even hit your mark so I wouldn't go bragging about anything just yet. Besides, I heard that you're not very good at hitting any mark. Just ask your wife."

Dinah watched as the man lunged out towards the other man, grabbing his gun away from him and shooting him square in the chest. He'd dug the gun into the man's body in order to muffle the sound.

The man's body flopped to the ground in a lifeless heap as the other man cleaned his fingerprints off the gun and tossed it onto the ground. "I'm not wasting my bullets on you, you worthless piece of shit." He spat on the dead man's body before walking away, leaving the man to bleed out all over the tunnel's floor.

Dinah thought one down, two to go. When the man was gone, Dinah moved from her hiding place and looked the spots of blood all over the ground.

Oracle, their prey is hurt, she said into her comm. I need move faster. She walked deeper into the tunnel but lost sight of the man due to the distraction of the killing and examining the spots.

"Shit," she swore to herself. I lost him.

Dinah tried unsuccessfully to find him, but after a few minutes she could hear gunshots. With the echo from the tunnel, it was hard to figure out which direction it was coming from. 

She ran off towards where she thought the shots may have come from but didn't see any sign of the men. She did, however find more blood, and lots of it.

After a while, Dinah checked her watch and sighed with frustration as it had been nearly one hour since she began following the men. Finally, she found them.

Hiding near a dark wall, she watched as the men assembled in a small area of one of the tunnels. They wasted no time getting down to business.

"Gentlemen. I see that there are now only two of you. Perhaps our prey was a bit too much for Mr. McDonaugh to handle. Oh well, no worries."

"So where's our play thing?" one of the players asked.

"Ah, we'll get to that right now. One of my men is bringing it here now. He found it lying on the ground near one of the water tanks.

we failed

No, it's still alive, but I don't know yet who hit the target and how many times. I just know is hurt. But first, I need you to give back your weapons."

The men handed over the weapons and the man inspected the clips. "Hmm, each of you used up all of your bullets I see."

The organizer's right-hand-man, Joey, entered the area dragging a body by their jacket. He got the person on their knees, holding them up by placing his big arm around their neck. He yanked off the hood and Dinah's stomach plummeted to the ground. It was Helena.

Her face was bloody on one side and she looked like she was struggling to stay conscious. Her face showed the pain she was in but with the black outfit Dinah wasn't able to tell where she was wounded.

Dinah didn't know what to do. She was too close to the men to call Barbara, they'd hear her for sure. She couldn't move from her position, they'd see her and kill her in a heartbeat. And she was afraid to storm them and risk Helena's life.

Joey shoved Helena to the ground on her back and pinned her down, smirking as she moaned in pain. Her hands were bound tightly behind her back with thick rope. The splintery material bit into her wrists causing them to bleed.

"Damn," one of the men gasped. "We hunted down a chick?"

Not your average girl next door. I trust she gave you one hell of a chase, right?"

"Definitely," one of the players answered. 

"I've had my eye on her for quite some time and I knew that she was perfect prey for my game," the man said as he knelt down beside her and touched her cheek. Today I prepared a trap for herand worked. She's not as smart as she thinks she is.

Despite the pain, Helena glared at the man. "I'llkill you." Her voice was ragged, rough and reeked of pain.

Oh really? he laughed, "somehow I doubt that."

Joey ripped the material by her shoulder, exposing a gory, bloody bullet wound. With a pair of tweezers, he dug into the wound Helena gritted her teeth and tried to breathe through the pain that was coursing through her body. He pulled out a blue bullet, holding it up for the others to see. Helena did her best to stifle her whimpers of pain.

The organizer shined a flashlight on the bloody bullet. "Score one for blue."

Son of Helena made an attempt at getting up but Joey pushed her back down, slamming her head on the hard concrete. Dazed, Helena hardly felt the pain of Joey's tweezers digging into the bullet would in her thigh.

"Score another for blue." He looked Huntress and smiled Girl, you are really amazing. I'm rather sorry that this will be your first and last night to play with us. He pointed at the blood oozing from her wounds. "Looks like these guys got you good."

Dinah felt the tears welling up in her eyes as she watched the torture that Helena was going through. She felt helpless and frozen with fear, but Helena's scream of pain knocked her out of her trance.

Joey had ripped out a yellow bullet from above Helena's hip, and he definitely wasn't gentle about it's removal.

Argh!! You son-of-bitch!" she yelled before holding her breath against the pain.

Don't worry honey, we have two more yet. Joey said turning her roughly to her back. She grunted. He looked the bleeding wound near her ribcage and smiled. Next one coming up! he teased.

"That's enough!" Dinah mumbled under her breath as she focused on Joey's mind and used her powers against him.

Joey dropped the bloody tweezers and clutched his head in pain.

"Joey?" the man asked with concern.

"Make it stop!" Joey screamed.

Dinah heightened her power and tossed Joey into a nearby wall, knocking him unconscious.

"What the fuck?" one of the men gasped.

Dinah turned her attention to the ring leader of the group and played with his mind, making him think he was being choked to death. Soon, the man fell to the ground, unmoving.

The two men that had been the players in the game looked on in shock.

"What's the matter? You guys afraid?" Dinah asked sarcastically as she stepped out of the shadows.

"D---Dinah?" Helena mumbled as she noticed her friend a few feet away.

One of the men ran at Dinah, but didn't get far before he found himself being flung across the tunnel, slamming into the solid concrete wall and sliding to the ground like a ragdoll. His head split open like a cantaloupe and leaked blood onto the dark cement of the tunnel's wall. 

Helena made a feeble attempt to get to her feet, but she couldn't find the strength. She was back down on the cement in a matter of seconds.

The other man stood where he was and was visibly frightened. His bottom lip trembled and his hands went up in front of him as Dinah walked closer to him.

"Don't! Don't kill me!"

"What?"

"Please! Please don't kill me!" he begged.

"You have the balls to beg me not to kill you yet you and your sick friends here had no problem with almost killing her."

"I...I..."

Dinah no! Helena shouted supporting her body on her good arm. " Helena tried to stand up again but her legs were weak and she hit the ground once again.

Dinah lashed out at the man and punched him in the face, knocking him out cold. She wanted to continue with the beating, but Helena needed her help.

"Oracle?!?" Dinah's voice was tainted with worry and Barbara could sense it.

"What's happening? What's wrong?"

Dinah ran toward her friend and cut her bounds. "It's Huntress. She's hurt really bad and needs help." 

::Wh-what? How did...:: Barbara muttered, shocked ::They were hunting her??::

She was their prey. I think they trapped her and turned her mic off. She kneeled next to her friend and examined her wounds. "She's been shot."

::How many?::

Dinah felt her heart jump out of her chest as she felt all around her friend's body. One in her right shoulder, two in her thigh, one near her hip and another in her side. She's bleeding all over the place!

::Any of them go all the way through?::

Dinah made a second sweep of Helena's body. "No."

Barbara felt her stomach flip flop. ::I'm on my way!::

Helena curled into a ball, hugging her stomach. Her breathing was labored and shallow. 

Dinah moved Helena's hand away from one of the wounds slowly. Easy Helena, everything is okay. Let me see it, She whispered to her. The wound near her ribcage was bleeding the worst of them all. Placing her hand over it, she applied pressure to try and stop it. 

Helena moaned in pain and Dinah did her best to comfort her. She cradled Helena's head on her lap; the brunette opened her eyes and looked at her with glassy eyes. She tried to talk but Dinah held her tightly. "Shhh, Barbara's coming." She stroked her hair and was thankful that it was somewhat dark in the tunnel so she wouldn't have to see all the blood. The brunette tried to remain conscious but her whole body was a mass of pain.

::Okay,:: Dinah heard Barbara's voice, ::I need you to get her up to street level. There's an exit about 50 yards from you, to your left. Can you get her there without moving here around too much?::

"I'll try my best." Dinah looked around and found a metal ladder leading to the street.

She leaned over Helena and moved her arms behind her back. Helena, I need to move you. Barbara is going to take us home. I'll try to not be rough.

Helena couldn't answer, she merely nodded. Her vision began to blur and she passed out.


	3. Assessing the damage

Alfred was waiting for them when they arrived. He helped Dinah carry Helena into the med lab where they laid her down on the table. Barbara wheeled toward a table and grabbed a pair of scissors. "Help me get these clothes off her. All this dark clothing, I can't tell where her wounds are." Barbara wheeled back toward the unconscious brunette.

Dinah helped her mentor cut Helena's clothes off while Alfred sterilized the surgical equipment.

"Dear God," Barbara gasped as she looked at the five bloody bullet wounds that were scattered throughout Helena's body.

"They took out three of the bullets already," Dinah said as she pointed to the wounds. "The one in her shoulder, the one near her hip and that one closest to her knee."

Barbara shook her head. "Friggin' barbarians. They probably did more damage just ripping them out like that." She inspected the wounds and could see the torn tissue. Helena was going to have a lot of healing to do, meta or no meta. 

Dinah flinched each time Barbara pulled out a bloody bullet and dropped it onto the metal tray beside her. The sound seemed obnoxiously loud as she envisioned the spent bullets being pulled from Helena's body.

"That's the last one," Barbara said as she wiped the sweat from her brow with her arm. "The scan's not showing any others so we need to get those wounds cleaned and stitched up."

Alfred came over to Barbara's side and assisted her in cleaning Helena's wounds. He poured saline solution onto the bloody holes in Helena's thigh, immediately turning the clear solution red as it mixed with her blood.

Dinah watched the blood flow over Helena's leg, onto the table and splash onto the floor. She swallowed hard and tried to fight the dizziness that came over her, but she lost that battle as her eyes rolled up in her head and she fainted onto the floor.

"Dinah!" Barbara gasped.

Alfred peeked over at the fallen girl. "She's alright, let her be. Miss Helena needs our attention right now."

***

They'd worked on Helena for most of the night. Barbara stayed by her side after they moved her to her room. The brunette was in the grip of fever all night. It wasn't until the morning when it lowered a bit. Who ever had done this to her was a insane psycho. The bullets were small enough to penetrate but not kill her with a single shot. Five gunshot wounds was pushing it close. A sixth may have killed her for sure. Barbara shuddered at the thought.

Helena began to stir around 9:30am and Barbara was ready to keep her injured friend from getting out of the bed. She knew her all too well.

Helena blinked herself awake and immediately sighed as the pain presented itself. Her body was on fire and throbbed with pain. "Shit," she swore as she gritted her teeth.

Barbara held her hand, shaking her head as she saw Helena try to sit up. "Easy, no getting up," Barbara said softly as she put her hand to her friend's forehead. "You've got a high fever, some of the wounds are infected. That place was dirty and by the looks of some of your wounds they weren't real concerned with removing those bullets the right way."

Helena didn't answer. The fever and the pain kept her silent. And silence was something Helena usually didn't know the meaning of.

Barbara looked at her, feeling her own heart aching as she watched the pained look on her face. "I've given you as much medication as I can. I wish I..."

"It's fine," Helena mumbled, I'm fine

Barbara didn't believe her, it was obvious that the pain was intense. Being shot five times, manhandled, and having bullets ripped from your body couldn't feel very good.

"Dinah?" Helena whispered in a soft, barely audible voice.

"I sent her to school. I was hoping it would keep her mind off of what happened last night."

Helena shifted in the bed, grunting as even the slightest movement sent waves of pain thundering through her body. She closed her eyes.

"Do you remember what happened before you were shot?" Barbara asked.

Preparing to speak, Helena took a deep breath. "Ambushed at the mill. Too many of them. Thought I could handle it, but they didn't fight clean "

Barbara put her hand on Helena's arm, rubbing it as she spoke.

"Someone drugged me. I fell, they overwhelmed me. One of them, a big guy took me somewhere. Put a hood over my head, tied my hands up." She took another deep breath and let it out slowly. "I tried to call you but they had ripped off my necklace. The tall guy told me that I had an opportunity to live if I ran. The drugs...confused me. Before I could say something they started to shoot so I ran. They kept shooting, I kept running" Helena struggled to stay awake and finish her story, but her eyelids grew heavier by the second. There were so manythey were everywhere..and

Barbara patted Helena's arm. "That's enough for now. Rest. We can talk later."

"It hurt so bad." A single tear rolled down Helena's cheek. 

Barbara fought back her own tears as she wiped Helena's tear away. "Sleep. Let it go for now."

I triedto call you Helena mumbled before drifted off to sleep.

Barbara brushed the hair away from Helena's face as she let her own tears flow.

***

Helena slept for most of the day and Barbara never left her side.

Alfred entered the room with a tray full of food. "Miss Barbara, you must eat something," he insisted as he set the tray down on the small table next to the bed. "I shall sit with Miss Helena in your absence."

Barbara checked Helena's temperature again, almost ignoring what Alfred was saying. "Her fever finally broke about an hour ago. I just want to be sure it stays that way."

"Honestly, if I was able to take care of Master Bruce I am surely able to take care of his daughter. Now eat or I shall have to force feed you myself."

"I'm sorry, Alfred. I don't mean to imply that you're not capable of taking care of her," Barbara whispered to him as he sat next to her. "I'm just...I'm afraid to leave her. I've never seen her this hurt before." She could feel the tears beginning to swell up again in her eyes and she did all she could to hold them back.

Alfred patted her hand. "I understand. This isn't an easy line of work and one hopes and prays that situations such as this never occur." The old man chuckled a bit. "I'll be honest, Miss Helena's condition scared the dickens out of me as well."

Barbara smiled, thankful for Alfred's comforting words.

Helena groaned as she began to wake up and Barbara was right there by her side.

"Where am I?" Helena asked with a confused look.

"You're at the Clocktower. Here, drink this," Barbara said as she helped Helena drink a glass of water.

Helena took a few sips, thankful for the cool liquid that soothed her dry throat. "I feel like hell."

"No offense but you look like hell." Barbara smiled, hoping to lighten the mood.

"I need to sit up," Helena muttered through a groan of pain as she began to sit up.

Barbara wanted to protest but Helena had already gotten herself up. "Here," she said as she stacked up the pillows behind Helena, "lie back."

Helena eased herself back down and let out a long sigh.

"It's probably best that you not lie flat any longer anyway. I don't want your lungs filling up with fluid." Helena watched Barbara snap into medical mode as she checked her vitals. "I need to clean your wounds and change the bandages. You woke up at the perfect time," Barbara said sarcastically.

"Lucky me."

"Miss Helena, it's nice to see you looking better. Would you like something to eat?"

"No thanks, Alfred. I'm not real hungry. Maybe a little later?"

"Very well. I'll be in the kitchen should either of you need anything."

"Thanks, Alfred," Barbara said as she dug into a bag full of bandages, antiseptics and various other medical supplies. "How's the pain?" she asked Helena who was rubbing the sore spots on her side.

"Not as bad, but it's still got a good bite to it."

"I'll give you some more meds after we get these wounds cleaned."

Awkward silence hung in the air as Barbara cleaned and redressed the wound in Helena's shoulder. 

When Barbara moved to the wounds in Helena's thigh, Helena shattered the silence. "I lost track of how many times they got me."

"Five," Barbara said flatly as she grimaced a bit at the two wounds. The skin was black and blue, swollen and bloody. The black stitches that held the delicate skin together made them look even more severe.

Barbara poured antiseptic on the wounds and Helena yelped out in pain. "Shit!! That fuckin' burns!"

Barbara tried to keep Helena's hands away from the wound. "Sorry, but I have to keep them free of more infection. The one above your knee was full of dirt and grime when we got you back here. The tissue inside is torn up pretty bad. You're gonna have to stay off your feet for a while and give it enough time to heal properly. If not, then plan on having a limp for the rest of your life and say good-bye to jumping from rooftop to rooftop without any pain."

Helena looked away from Barbara as she digested the words and felt anger brewing inside her.

Barbara finished up with the wounds on her thigh and moved to the ones on her left side. She poured antiseptic onto the wounds and watched as Helena leaned her head back, biting on her bottom lip as the burning pain seared through her senses. "Almost done."

"I'm gonna kill that son-of-a-bitch."

"Get in line," Barbara responded as she dabbed at the wound by Helena's ribcage. "The bullet took a good-size chip out of your bottom rib. Took a while to get all the fragments out of you." Barbara pressed her fingers around the wounded area.

"Ow!!! What the fuck?!?" Helena yelled. "That hurts! Don't!"

"Sorry," Barbara said honestly as she put a gauze pad over the wound and taped it in place. "We'll have to check and change the dressing again in a few hours."

Helena sucked in a breath and blew it out slowly.

"Get some more rest. I'll come by in another hour to check on you." Barbara smiled slightly and began to wheel herself out of the room.

"Barbara?"

Barbara stopped and turned back around to face Helena.

"Thank you."

Barbara smiled. "I'm glad you're okay. Now get some rest."

Helena watched Barbara leave the room and after a few minutes she heard a slight knock at the door. Looking up, she saw Dinah.

"Want another visitor?"

"Come on in, kid."

Dinah walked into the room and sat down in the chair by the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit, but thanks for asking."

There was a long pause as Dinah tried to think of what to say. She always felt a distance between her and Helena whenever they were alone together. It felt awkward.

"So where'd that sick bastard go? Did we lock him up so I can have a few cracks at him when I'm able to get out of this bed?"

Dinah lowered her head for a moment before raising it. "I don't know where he is. I went back there this morning and they were gone."

"What? You let them get away?!?"

"You were bleeding all over the place. I needed to help you!"

Helena sighed in frustration as she leaned back into the pillows, shaking her head.

"If I didn't get you out of there you'd be dead right now." Dinah stood up, tears filling her eyes.

"I...I guess I'm just...I want to kill the bastard before he does this to someone else."

Dinah could see the pain in Helena's face. "I want to get him as much as you. Seeing you like that scared me. I don't EVER want to go through that again. I feel...responsible."

Helena's brow creased. "What? Why?"

Dinah wiped the tears from her eyes. "I was one step behind the whole way. I found the blood and I couldn't find you. When I did find you, I watched what they did to you. I didn't know what to do. Maybe if..."

"Don't! This isn't your fault. You did what you could. Don't blame yourself. If anything, steer your anger towards that prick that did this and help me find him. I'm useless at the moment so you need to help me." Helena looked towards the door to make sure Barbara wasn't coming. "We need to keep this between me and you, Barbara doesn't need to know."

"But she'll have both of our heads if..."

"If we tell her we'll have to do everything by-the-book and it'll take forever to catch him. If we do this on our own we have a better chance at finding him and stopping him before he...kills someone." The words hit home for Helena as she thought about how close she'd come to death.

"Okay. What do you want me to do?"

"When you're out on sweeps, ask around to see if there's a buzz going around. Talk to Peter who's the bouncer at Cue. He's cool and is really good with giving reliable info. Tell him what happened to me and I'm sure he'll offer up whatever he can. Then talk to Zen. He's a homeless dude who is usually over on 11th. He's got a carriage with him that has a black Led Zeppelin flag on the side of it. You can tell him I sent you. He's another good source of info."

"Got it."

"We'll see how that goes and if nothing pans out then we'll try a couple of other sources. But let's try these first. Hopefully this dickhead hasn't run too far underground."

Dinah could see that Helena's pain had intensified, judging by the look on her face. "You want me to get Barbara to give you some more pain killers?"

"Nah. I'll tough it out. I want to keep a clear mind."

"Alright. I'm heading out on sweeps in a little while. I'll check in to see if you're awake when I come back."

"I probably will be. I'm all sleeped out."

"I'll see you later then."

"Be careful."

"I will."

Dinah left the room and Helena sighed with frustration. She wanted to get out of bed and help Dinah track that bastard down, but she thought back to what Barbara had told her about her leg. Still, Helena was determined. 

Painfully, she sat up and waited for the pain to lighten up. Swinging her legs over, she placed her feet on the floor and immediately felt the deep throbbing flare up in her thigh. Rubbing the sore spots, she slowly stood up, closing her eyes against the pain and dizziness that enveloped her.

When the dizziness cleared and the pain let up, Helena took a small step forward, swallowing hard against the new dose of pain cause from the movement. She took another step and found herself crashing to the floor.

Her body was consumed with pain and there was no way she was getting up without help, and help was in the form of Barbara wheeling into the room like a madwoman.

"Helena!" she gasped as she saw her friend writhing in pain on the floor. "Alfred!"

Alfred ran into the room to help Barbara get Helena back into bed. "Stubborn little girl. You're just like your father," he said as he scooped the injured girl into his arms and placed her gently back into bed.

"I'm...I'm fine," Helena tried to insist as she grunted and groaned through the pain.

"You're NOT fine, dammit! Stay in this damn bed and DON'T move!" Barbara checked the wounds and found some of stitching had been torn. "Alfred, can you get my suture kit."

"No more needles, come on," Helena pleaded.

"There wouldn't have to be if you'd just listened to me for once!" Barbara shook her head in anger.

Alfred returned with the kit and a small vile and needle. "I think you'll need this as well."

Barbara looked at Alfred and nodded. "I'm afraid so." She took the needle and filled it with the contents of the vile.

Alfred grabbed Helena's arm and held it down.

Barbara quickly tapped on Helena's vein and plunged the needle into her skin, emptying the needle.

"No!" Helena protested as she began to thrash about.

"I'm sorry, Helena. It's the only way I can get you to stay put."

When the needle was empty, she withdrew it from her vein and watched the drug take effect. Helena's eyes began to blink as she tried to remain conscious.

"You...bitch," Helena whispered before drifting off to sleep.

Barbara felt the word sting, but she brushed it off and focused on the task at hand - stitching Helena's wounds back up.


	4. Game over

Night turned into morning and morning turned into day by the time Helena had awoken from her painkiller-induced haze.

She shook the cloudiness from her mind and noticed Dinah sitting by her side, watching TV with the volume down.

"Hey," Dinah said as she noticed her friend waking up.

"How long have I been out?"

"A while."

It took a few minutes for Helena to fully wake up and when she did she got right down to it. "You go see those guys that I told you about?"

"Yeah," Dinah whispered. "Zen was the only one with info. He told me the guy's name is Henry Bloomington, but everyone knows him as Boom Boom because he used to be a boxer or something back in the day."

"That fat fuck was a boxer?" Helena laughed and then grimaced in pain.

"Doesn't seem possible does it?" Dinah agreed.

"So where is he?"

"I'm supposed to go see Zen tonight to get more info. He had a few people to check with and he told me he'd have more info for me tonight."

"You didn't tell Barbara about any of this right?"

"Not a word, but I noticed that she's got a hefty investigation going on herself. She was up all night last night. I'm kinda worried about her. She's really been on edge these past few days."

"What about the other guys that were there?"

"Zen said that Joey is Henry's right-hand-man, been employed with him for a few years now. No last name on him and not much info. It's like he came out of nowhere."

"And the players?"

"Well, unfortunately I don't have any names but the police have the two men in custody. When they ran from the scene they ended up in an alley and beat the shit out each other."

"What about the third guy?"

"He's dead. I saw one of the guys kill him when we were down in the sewer."

"Great, so the police are going to be hot on Henry's heels too."

"Look at it this way, at least he'll be off the streets."

Helena shook her head. "I want him, Dinah. I want to make him feel the pain that I felt. I want him to beg me to spare his life."

Dinah felt a chill run up her spine. "I understand your anger but..."

"But nothing. You're starting to sound like Barbara!"

"And that's a bad thing?" Barbara said as she entered the room.

The two girls looked towards their mentor, surprised at her sudden appearance.

"You two arguing about something?"

Dinah looked at Helena and then back at Barbara. "No...I...I was just telling Helena that she shouldn't be getting out of bed just yet. She's a little stubborn if you haven't noticed." Dinah looked at Helena and smiled sarcastically. "I have some homework to do before I go out. I'll see you later."

Barbara wheeled over to Helena. "You okay?"

"If you've come in here to pump me full of more drugs you can forget it."

Barbara held up her empty hands. "I come in peace," Barbara joked. "Seriously, are you feeling any better?"

"A little."

Barbara began checking on Helena's wounds, surprised that Helena wasn't protesting.

"I'm sorry I had to do that to you, but..."

"It's okay. I deserved it. I guess I'm just a little frustrated with being cooped up."

Barbara continued checking Helena's wounds. "You're healing well, even despite yesterday's tumble."

"Ow! Easy!"

"Sorry."

"So do we have any leads on our game man?" Helena thought she'd do a little fishing to see what info Barbara would be willing to give up to her.

"Mmm, not much. Still working on it. You shouldn't be worrying about that, let Dinah and I take care of it."

"I just feel so helpless lying here! I want to be involved somehow."

"Your focus needs to be on healing, nevermind anything else."

"This sucks."

Barbara felt her emotions begin to leak out. "No, what SUCKS is finding your friend bleeding to death with five bullet wounds in her body. Or what's worse is that you thought everything was okay because you'd just talked to her, but then you find out everything's NOT okay and that if you had only known you could have helped and she wouldn't be lying here right now hurt and in pain." Helena was blown away by Barbara's response and remained silent. "I sat by your side through your fevered dreams and watched helplessly as your body fought off the infection. To be honest, I wasn't sure whether you'd be able to, you were hurt that badly. So don't talk to me about feeling helpless, Helena."

Barbara wheeled away to wipe her tears and get more gauze.

"Barbara, I'm sorry."

Composing herself, Barbara turned back around, clearing her throat. "Please, just let Dinah and I take care of this."

"Okay," Helena said softly. She honestly had no intention of staying out of it, but it's what Barbara needed and wanted to hear.

***

Later that night, Dinah was out on sweeps and had gotten more information from Zen. Henry was supposed to be meeting Joey at a bar on 8th to discuss their next venture.

Wasting no time, she headed over to the bar and waited outside to see if they'd show up. She pulled her hood over her head and close to her face so they wouldn't recognize her.

After about an hour, the two men pulled up in a limo and went into the bar.

Dinah felt like she had to tell Helena what was going on, but she really didn't want to see Helena coming out here in her condition and injuring herself further, so she tailed them alone.

The men sat in a booth at the back of the bar and she got as close to them as possible.

Henry looked over in her direction and she quickly turned away.

Slowly glancing back over, she saw that he was no longer looking at her but the two men were getting up to leave.

She went back outside and duck into a nearby alley to watch for them.

A few minutes passed and she didn't see them. Confused, she walked further out to see if she'd missed them, but she was suddenly struck from behind with a 2x4.

Dazed from the blow, she struggled to remain upright.

"Foolish little girl," Henry spat as he watched Joey lash out towards the blonde, striking her in the face and sending her to the ground.

"What do you want me to do with her, boss?"

"Kick the shit out of her. I think it'll be entertaining to watch."

"I wouldn't if I were you!" a female voice said from a few feet away.

Henry looked up and found a Birdarang flying towards his head. The flying disc smacked him right in the side of the head, sending him crashing to the ground.

"You bitch!" he gasped as he put his fingers to the bleeding wound.

Joey glared at Barbara as she took out another Batarang and let that one fly in his direction.

He snatched it out of the air and clenched it in his hand, ignoring the blood dripping from his palm as the sharp edges dug into his skin. In one quick movement, he hurled the disc back at Barbara.

The only way to avoid being hit was for her to lunge out of her chair. She landed on the ground with a thud and looked up as Joey headed her way.

He reached down and grabbed her by the hair, yanking her up. "What's the matter? Can't run away." He began laughing as he slammed her down to the concrete and gave her a swift kick to the ribs.

"Stop!" Dinah yelled as she turned her powers towards Joey.

Joey turned around, unaffected by her telepathy.

Dinah tried harder but it was no use.

Joey tapped the side of his head. "You're not getting in here ever again, little freak." He stuck out his tongue and showed her a flat piece of metal. "That's keeping you out of my head." He reached down and grabbed Dinah by the front of her jacket, hauling her to her feet before shoving her roughly against the wall. He pinned her there for a moment, watching her squirm, before lifting her and throwing her down onto the ground like he'd done to Barbara.

Barbara was still lying on the ground, unable to move. She'd felt a rib crack under the pressure of being hurled to the ground so she limited her movements.

Henry got up and smiled at the two women lying on the ground in obvious pain. "You two must be good friends with my latest prey. Tell me, did she survive? Huh?"

"Go to hell," Barbara said through gritted teeth.

"Did she tell you how they hunted her down like a dog and shot her like some wild animal? Huh? Did she tell you how much it hurt, the poor baby."

Henry didn't get another word out before he was knocked off his feet by a dark figure. They picked Henry up and flung him into the wall of the alley, kicking him over and over as he slumped to the ground.

Joey tried attacking the person from behind, but he regretted the attack as he soon found himself on the ground in a choke-hold. Joey gasped for breath and clawed at the dark figure's arm in an attempt at freeing himself. After a few moments, his clawing stopped as Joey took his final breath.

Henry jumped on the back of the dark figure and wrestled them to the ground. The two struggled for a few moments and then stopped as both of them became motionless. 

The dark figure rolled Henry off of their body and moved away as Henry laid on the ground with a knife protruding from his heart.

The mystery fighter scooped Barbara up and placed her back in her wheelchair before running off into the night.

Dinah managed to get to her feet, fighting the dizziness that overwhelmed her mind, and got Barbara to the van that was parked further down the street.

***

When the two returned to the Clocktower, Dinah summoned Alfred's help in tending to Barbara's wounds.

"You need to have a thorough scan yourself, Miss Dinah."

"A little later, I need to check on Helena."

Dinah went upstairs to the loft's spare room and found it empty. Leaning heavily on the doorway, she shook her head. "I knew it. She never listens."

Dinah stormed downstairs back to the med lab. "Alfred, where's Helena?"

"Helena? Helena's gone?" Barbara asked through her pain.

"She was there earlier," Alfred insisted.

"Well she's not there now." Dinah went back to the loft and found Helena climbing back into bed.

Folding her arms over her chest, she walked over to Helena. "Where the hell were you?" Dinah asked.

"Whoa, I should ask you the same thing. You're bleeding." Helena reached out towards Dinah's face only to have Dinah slap her hand away.

"Why do you do this all the time! Why can't you just let me and Barbara handle things for once?!?"

Helena eased herself down onto the bed. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Where were you about twenty minutes ago?"

"Here."

"Give me a break. You're like a window, I can see right through you. Where were you, really?"

Helena took a breath and let it out. "Okay. Okay. I was downstairs on Barbara's computer."

Dinah hadn't expected that response. "What?"

"I was poking around to see what information I could find."

"Wait, so you weren't out following us?"

Helena chuckled as much as her wounds would let her. "Are you kidding? It took forever just to get downstairs without being seen."

Dinah put her hand to her head. "I'm...I'm sorry, Helena. I..."

"So what happened? You found him didn't you?"

"Yes. I followed them and Barbara showed up. We both got our asses handed to us. Alfred's down in the med lab with her."

"Is she okay?"

"She's got a cracked rib and maybe a broken arm. We tried to fight them off, but that Joey is friggin' huge."

"Tell me about it."

"Someone dressed in black came out of nowhere and took them both out. I couldn't see who it was, it was too dark. I...I assumed it was you."

"Well, I hate to disappoint you but it wasn't me."

Dinah looked at Helena's hands for cuts just to make sure, but she didn't find any.

"I better go back and check on Barbara. You stay put."

"Yes, mother. And, Dinah...don't tell her I was playing with her computer. She'll kill me."

"Your secret is safe with me."

***

Later that night, Barbara laid in bed as she rested.

Alfred entered with a cup of hot tea. "Here's your tea, as you requested."

"Thanks, Alfred."

"You also have a phone call that you should take." Alfred handed her a small cell phone.

Confused, Barbara took the phone. "Hello?"

"Barbara?"

"Bruce?"

"I just wanted to see that you were safe."

"Oh my God, that was you?"

"Is Helena okay?"

"She's fine. But...you killed those men. You...we don't kill."

"Those men tried to kill my little girl. I'm tired of letting those lowlifes get away with things like that. I've made that mistake already."

"But..."

"Give Helena my love."

The line clicked as Bruce hung up.

Barbara placed the phone on the small table beside the bed and drifted off into the numerous thoughts that roamed around in her head.

~ FIN


End file.
